Synopses & Reviews
Here is the first biography of one of the most gifted strategists of the civil rights movement. Organizer of the 1963 march on Washington, Bayard Rustin played a significant role during this era of dramatic change in America.
"Bayard Rustin was that rarest of Americans ... a man who geniunely transcended race.... It is good to have this renewed testimony to his essential decency and compassion". -- Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
"Rustin was an astute, mercurial man -- so quick on his feet that it is said he was never bested in oral argument -- and also a man of great personal courage. Without a doubt his life and ideals are worth rediscovering. Mr. Anderson's very readable book is a good introduction". -- Fred Siegel, The Wall Street Journal
"A warm and accessible portrait, enriched by memorable stories of a colorful and contradictory man who loved life.... A must read for anyone interested in the struggle for social justice in America in the 20th century". -- James Ralph, Chicago Tribune
"'He didn't lead so much as he influenced, ' The New York Times observed in an editorial when in Rustin died in 1987. And he derived that influence from a combination of intelligence, magnetism, and charm that Mr. Anderson effectively portrays". -- Alan Brinkley, New York Times Book Review
Review
With access to civil rights organizer Rustin's personal papers and the cooperation of his associates, New Yorker writer Anderson (A. Philip Randolph) has written a solid if not lyrical biography of an underappreciated black intellectual. Rustin (1912-1987) was best known as the mastermind behind the historic 1963 March on Washington, but, as Anderson explains, his interests and influence were hardly limited to civil rights. A good student and musically talented, Rustin adopted an upper-class British accent during his Pennsylvania boyhood, and his Quaker faith shaped his career as an acolyte of A. Philip Randolph and the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). He tested segregation laws as an FOR organizer and was unfazed by a prison sentence for conscientious objection during WWII.
After his career with FOR was derailed in 1953 by a morals charge (the charming Rustin was gay) he allied himself with Martin Luther King Jr., helping strengthen King's Gandhian precepts and tactics. After the 1963 march, however, the pragmatic Rustin found himself opposing young militants at the 1964 Democratic convention as well as both black power activists and black studies programs. While he supported organized labor and denounced anti-Semitism in his last two decades, Rustin found himself increasingly isolated from black leaders. However, as Anderson explains, Rustin's humane vision which included crusades for African independence and against nuclear weapons aimed ultimately to serve the black struggle. Though Anderson, who once worked for Rustin, offers no personal recollections here, he does convey the measure of a man whose generosity and coalition-building are sorely needed today. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)*
Synopsis
Here is the first biography of one of the most gifted strategists of the civil rights movement. Organizer of the 1963 march on Washington, Bayard Rustin played a significant role during this era of dramatic change in America.
About the Author
Jervis Anderson has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1968. He is the author of This Was Harlem (1983), Guns in American Life (1984) and A. Philip Randolph (California, 1986).